Many thanks to those who contacted me about mental health funding and research.
I am extremely encouraged by the news that, as part of the five-year funding offer that will see the annual NHS budget grow by over £33.9 billion, mental health services will receive budget growth of £2.3 billion over the five-year funding settlement, the fastest uplift in funding. This will enable further service expansion and faster access to community and crisis mental health services for both adults and particularly children and young people. Further, for the first time, in 2018/19, all clinical commissioning groups increased the amount spent on mental health by at least as much as their overall budget increases. I am also pleased that the Government has committed around £2 billion to address waiting times for mental health services, giving more people the mental health support they need, investing in the NHS workforce and helping to ease existing pressures in the NHS caused by COVID-19.
I am pleased that a new mental health crisis service with comprehensive mental health support will be available in every major A&E, alongside new children and young peoples’ crisis teams across the country. The additional funding will also deliver more mental health ambulances, “safe havens” in the community; and a 24-hour mental health crisis hotline when people are in urgent need of help.
In the 2021 Spending Review, I was encouraged to see a new investment of £150 million in NHS mental health facilities linked to A&E and to enhance patient safety in mental health units. Additionally, around £300 million will be spent to complete the programme of replacing mental health dormitories with single en suite rooms. The Spending Review also included encouraging commitments to supporting ground-breaking innovative research to establish the UK as a life sciences superpower. This includes £95 million for the Office for Life Sciences, which I understand will support the launch of the Prime Minister’s healthcare mission on mental health. I look forward to learning more about this in due course.
I hope these new services help end the stigma surrounding mental health, offering crucial support to people suffering from crisis and those who have suffered in silence for too long.
I will continue to monitor this issue. Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.